The more Anthony Precourt looked ahead to his vision for a “new era” of Crew soccer, the less
team president Mark McCullers was a part of the plans. • So as the Crew opened the home portion of
its 2014 season last weekend, the team’s owner-investor and McCullers sat down to discuss his
future with the club.

In the end, Precourt said, McCullers — whose contract ran through this season — offered his
resignation after 15 years with the club, and Precourt now has a new personnel search on his
hands.

“As we concluded the offseason and all the good news that has come to light over the last few
months, this is the time now where I’m starting to think about 2015,” Precourt said in a
teleconference yesterday. “If we were to work with Mark to the end of his contract, that wouldn’t
put me in position to have hired a new leader when our 2015 business planning was starting.

“We’ll take a few months now to thoroughly and thoughtfully find our next level and let that
person step into the organization and have a few months to be assimilated before 2015 business
planning begins.”

Precourt said he will begin a national search similar to the one that landed Gregg Berhalter as
coach and sporting director in November, a search that included McCullers on its panel. This search
will be handled solely by Precourt.

When hired, the new executive will report directly to Precourt on all business-related matters.
Former Chicago Fire president Dave Greeley, who is working as what Precourt dubbed an “owner
representative,” will not be a candidate, Precourt said. The search will include internal and
external candidates.

McCullers made his usual rounds in advance of the home opener, appearing Friday night at an
annual party dubbed “Crewsmas” and filming a television spot with WBNS-10TV the morning of the
game. Precourt said there was no planned meeting with McCullers when he arrived late last week from
his home in San Francisco. It wasn’t until he was in Columbus that Precourt said he grabbed
McCullers for a talk.

McCullers declined to comment, as did Major League Soccer through a spokeswoman. He will remain
on staff until April 30, but all his decision-making responsibilities now fall to Precourt, who
will be the interim president.

The move comes less than three weeks after the Crew signed a television broadcast deal with Time
Warner Cable SportsChannel, which is available only on Time Warner cable. Fans within a 75-mile
radius of Crew Stadium are blacked out from watching games on MLS Live or Direct Kick if Time
Warner cable is available in their area but they aren’t subscribers, a deal that has put the
organization on the defensive despite an encouraging start to the season.

Precourt did not directly answer a question about whether the television deal helped seal
McCullers’ fate but did say he is aware of the negative feedback it has generated. As for the Crew’s
pursuits of making games more accessible, Precourt said, “That is something I’m getting more
involved in. Yes, everyone at the Crew is aware of the reaction to the deal. We’ll have more to
come on that subject at a later date.”

Since purchasing the Crew, Precourt has now cleared out a coach (Robert Warzycha), a technical
director and interim coach (Brian Bliss) and a team president.

“For me, the biggest thing about this new era in Columbus is the willingness of Anthony Precourt
to accept responsibility,” said Kyle McCarthy, MLS editor for Fox Soccer. “He puts himself out
there and makes the difficult decisions. Now he’s put himself in position where he has another big
choice to make. It’s important to take that responsibility and try to move the club forward.”

After being hired by Hunt Sports Group in December 1998 to oversee the development of Crew
Stadium, McCullers took over as general manager in 2005 and added the title of president in 2007.
He relinquished GM duties when Berhalter was hired in November.

In April 2011, McCullers signed a four-year contract extension. When he signed that deal, three
key goals were on his plate: selling naming rights to Crew Stadium, acquiring a jersey sponsor and
reaching 10,000 season-ticket holders. Today, the Crew has Barbasol as a jersey sponsor but remains
a ways off from the other two goals.

“It’s always a surprise to see a fixture at a club like Mark McCullers leave, but with the
changes in Columbus over the past few months, it was always something that was a possibility for
this club as it enters into a new era,” McCarthy said.

“You have to remember that he helped to deliver an MLS Cup and there were a lot of good times.
He has been a very committed figure to the Crew over the last 15 years, a guy who has been a key
component in the community and a driving force behind what the club has wanted to accomplish. The
Crew owes a great debt to him.”